MySpace molester gets max sentence

TAMPA - A Hillsborough County judge came down hard on a man convicted of lewd acts on two teenage girls. Prosecutors say Edward Oberwise, 38, made initial contact with them through the popular social networking website MySpace.com.

The girls, who were at the time 12 and 14-years-old, snuck out of their Fish Hawk homes in the dead of night. Detectives say they met up with Oberwise and he molested them. When the 14-year-old victim got home – her parents called police.

That’s when detectives decided to set up a trap to catch Oberwise in the act. They recorded a series of incriminating phone calls he made to the victims and eventually set up a fake meeting. When he showed up at a park near the girl’s homes, deputies were waiting with handcuffs.

Nearly two years later, Oberwise is still in jail, waiting to find out what his sentence will be. Today was his chance to ask for mercy after trading a jury trial for a deal of no more than 20 years in prison.

“My girlfriend’s here, my employer is here, my mom’s here. My mom ain’t got too much longer in this world. So, it’s basically what I got to say,” Oberwise told the judge.

After he finished, the mother of one of the victims read a statement her daughter wrote.

“I know I made a bad decision to leave the house in the middle of the night and meet the defendant. I will live with that decision for the rest of my life. Please do not let this man have the opportunity to commit this crime on any other young girl or woman,” she said.

Judge Wayne Timmerman gave Oberwise a chance to respond to the statement but he did not take the offer.

“You never even uttered any remorse or saying your sorry,” said Judge Timmerman.

Oberwise responded by telling the judge that this was the first time he’s been to court.

“The first time you’ve been to court is the only reason you can’t say, ‘I’m sorry’ and apologize for what you did?” Timmerman asked. “Please, you’re insulting my intelligence. I don’t want to hear anything, I’ve heard enough.”

Timmerman ended up throwing the book at Oberwise – giving him the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Oberwise left the courtroom in disbelief, shaking his head as he walked out.